Shining Force EXA Hands-on

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Building robots and finding sacred swords are what it's all about.

By Jeremy Dunham

Don't let all this "next-gen" talk fool you; the PlayStation 2 still has some life left in It and SEGA hopes to prove it to you with Shining Force EXA. A continuation of the concepts and mechanics found in 2005's Shining Force NEO (it isn't a direct sequel), EXA is likely to be one of the last PS2 action-RPGs to come out of Japan -- and it seems to be the bastard child of Suikoden and Baldur's Gate.

What does a mix of games like that mean for players? Well for fans of Suikoden's stronghold system, it means that you'll get a similar headquarters where you can do cool stuff and plan out your next move. Though it's nowhere near as big as Suikoden's gargantuan castles, the Geo-Fortress (as it's known here) is still pretty sizable and, as you continue to upgrade it, takes on multiple forms. What separates this HQ from Suikoden's, however, is that upgrading the Geo-Fortress isn't just a necessity to make room for characters or item shops -- you have to defend it from attackers too, and choosing the right force of characters to protect it is almost as important as choosing your party of adventurers.

The only way to upgrade the stronghold, of course, is by collecting the materials necessary to do so. When successful in gathering the proper metals, users will be able to find new and interesting ways to use their Geo-Fortress to do things such a search for treasure, assign supplemental protector robots, or even regenerate health. Eventually your Geo-Fortress becomes so bad-ass that it actually launches off of its base and begins floating in the sky for just enough of ye old anime-fantasy touch.

But how you actually earn the right to get the Geo-Fortress is part of Shining Force's early hook and it helps to explain how your group joined forces. Paying homage to the legend of King Arthur, the early storyline follows a handful of heroes as they set out in search of a legendary sword known as Shining Force. The hitch is, that only one of them is worthy enough to pull it from the hidden stone, and there's definitely a personal competition to see who's going to get it first. Sadly, the person who does eventually get it is predictable -- but once they do, it opens up the very cool Geo-Fortress options mentioned above.

In battle, players can expect to hack and slash their way through anything that moves. There are two playable characters in total (Toma the swordsman and Cyrille the magician), and you'll have two AI-powered buddies to help you along the way. Played out entirely in real-time, the combat system has an action-heavy feel uses the familiar icon-based interface first made famous in the Genesis SRPG so many years ago. I can tell you right now that level grinders will love seeking out new enemies to build their strength with, and having access to multiple weapon and attack types keeps things colorful as you go along.

If there's one concern that immediately sticks out when playing through Shining Force, though, is that despite having a charming artistic style and a cool Geo-Fortress system, it's a little repetitious. I'm hopeful that more attacks and different enemies will mix things up later on in the game, but right now, its encounters don't stick out like a more recent action-RPG, Rogue Galaxy.

Luckily, there's still plenty of time left for us to play before Shining Force hits stores in March, and we'll leave our final observations for then. In the meantime, check out the screenshot explosion located on our media page below.